Posted on 12/29/2005 5:35:36 AM PST by Quilla
The tantrum with which Secretary General Annan greeted the now famous question about the missing Mercedes Benz tells us a lot about the tensions that are building at the United Nations. The question was lodged at a press conference by one of the best reporters in the U.N. press room, James Bone of the London Times. Mr. Annan, normally a mild-mannered, suave operator, lashed out at Mr. Bone, calling him "cheeky" and "an overgrown schoolboy," and accused him of being "an embarrassment" to journalism - upon which the august editorial page of the Wall Street Journal promptly invited Mr. Bone to relate the backstory.
The Mercedes Benz, described as a "sporty green" Jeep-type vehicle, is missing somewhere in Africa, and Mr. Annan, his son Kojo, and their army of spokesmen and lawyers, just don't seem to want to answer questions about: What happened to that car? Who owns it? Where is it parked? The September 7 report of the Independent Inquiry Committee headed by Paul Volcker has it that the car was bought in Geneva in the fall of 1998, just as the goods-inspection company Cotecna was about to land a fat contract with the U.N.'s oil-for-food program. Cotecna at the time employed Mr. Annan's son, Kojo. The secretary general contributed $15,000 toward the purchase of the car. Another contributor was a Cotecna official and a family friend of the Annans, Michael Wilson, who paid a $3000 deposit. Kojo Annan paid the rest.
The car was, however, not purchased under Kojo Annan's name, but under his father's. Claiming diplomatic discount helped in shaving 14.3% off the Mercedes ticket price of just under $40,000.
(Excerpt) Read more at nysun.com ...
Crime does pay...quite handsomely. That is, of course, if you are devoted to equality and global peace.
And a good retirement plan.
Wouldn't that be "former Clinton Administration White House Special Counsel" Gregory Craig? Wherever there's the stink of corruption, there's sure to be a Clinton connection, huh...
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